Lid retainer



Dec. 19, 1967 w. L.. SMITH 3,358,874

LID RETAINER Filed Oct. 22, 1965 4. Y F 2 A A C J \3 WILL/AM L. SMITHINVENTOR.

y Marcus A. Safe:

United States Patent 3,358,874 LID RETAINER William L. Smith, 2345 50thSt., Lubbock, Tex. 79412 Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 502,063 4 Claims.(Cl. 22055.7)

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A retainer for enclosure covers, such as thelid of a garbage container and the like, comprised of a rigid metallicrod having a plastic coating thereon and including a fastener means ateach end thereof for holding the cover in close proximity to theenclosure. The fastener means includes fabricating the ends of the rodinto a clasp comprising a 180 bend, a straight portion followed by a 90bend, and a second shorter portion followed by a 180 bend. One fastenermeans may alternatively be bent into a spiral wherein each revolution ofthe spiral is of progressively smaller diameter in a direction away fromthe other fastener means to thereby enable the spiral to be screwed intothe ground.

The present invention relates to a retainer means for enclosure covers.The specific enclosure and cover used in the instant case to illustratethe retainer is a garbage can and a lid therefor.

In the Southwestern United States, especially the great State of Texas,the winds blow with high velocity much of the time. Garbage can lidsconsequently are blown away and eventually become refuse themselves,since they are then subject to being battered, bent, run over byvehicles, or lost in the brush.

There are a multitude of garbage cans, each being designed slightlydiiferent from one another. Hence it is almost futile for the owner ofone specific can to search down the alley for an unclaimed lid, for thisslight difference in design will preclude the proper fit of onemanufacturers lid on anothers can.

Once a specific garbage can lid is lost, so inevitably will be therefuse in this garbage can, since animals and the wind, or a combinationthereof, will ultimately dislodge the contents and scatter the refusedown the alleys.

A purpose of the present invention is to prevent the loss of a containerlid.

Another purpose of the present invention is to retain the lid with thecan once the lid has been removed.

A still further purpose of the instant invention is to provide asuitable lid retaining means that is attractive, yet low in cost, andsimple in operation and construction.

FIGURE 1 is an elevational view of the retainer means.

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view, similar to FIGURE 1, but showing amodified construction.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view of FIGURE 1 or 2 taken anywhere transverseto the linear axis of the retainer means, but specifically at A-A ofFIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view showing an application of the device ofFIGURE 1 as applied to a container having a lid thereon.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along A-A of FIGURE 2 with otherparts shown for clarity.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts and first more particularly to FIGURE 1, there isseen a plastic coated wire having a central portion 6 and two end partsbent into a clasp 7 and 10. The ends or loops 7 and 10 that form a claspare bent 180 at 1, 90 at 3, and 180 at 4 to form a fastener or claspthat may be readily aflixed to a handle as will be discussed later on.

As seen in FIGURE 4, the retainer is shown attached to a garbage can 14and lid 13. The claps 10 is shown afiixed to the handle 15 of the lid13, the other clasp 7 is afiixed to the handle 9 of the can 14. Thecentral portion 6 is easily bent as at 8 to loosely fit between thehandles 15 and 9. Once this bend is established, any further bending ofthe central portion is unnecessary since each loop is loosely attachedto its respective handle.

FIGURE 3 shows the metal rod 12 and plastic coating 11. The plasticcoating prevents marring the finish of the container and lid, and addsto the beauty and appearance of the retainer device. More importantly,the plastic coating prevents the wire from making undesired noises whenthe lid is removed from the can. The coating also forces the wire tomaintain any configuration it may be desired to bend it into, as at 8 inFIGURE 4, for example.

In the modification of FIGURE 2, a spiral or corkscrew 5 has been usedinstead of one of the clasps 7 or 10. The spiral 5 may be inserted intoa handle, such as 7 of FIGURE 4, or it may be screwed into the groundwhereby the lid will always be left at a predetermined location.

As previously discussed, the clasp 10, FIGURES 1, 2, and 4, is formed bya first bend 1 of 180 to form a suitable handle width, a length 2 ofseveral inches followed by a bend 3 of and another shorter lengthfollowed by a bend at 4. This last bend 4 forms the latch about 6 aswill readily be seen from the above description when studied inconjunction with the drawings. A length 2 of four inches and a length 6of thirteen inches has been found adequate for the standard capacitygarbage can. A wire size of 0.10 to 0.25 inch diameter with a plasticcoating of 0.03 to 0.10 inch has likewise proven adequate; with the wiresize preferably being 0.15 inch and the coating preferably being 0.06inch. Both aluminum and steel wire has been found to be satisfactory.

As will now be apparent to those skilled in the art, the retainer deviceaffords a simple means by which a container and lid may be kept togetherin close proximity to one another, thus avoiding the loss of the lid.The retainer device is simply attached by one loop to one handle, theother loop to the remaining handle, and a permanent bend placed in thelength between the loops. This bend is permanent since each loop fitsits respective handle with sufiicient play to enable the removal andreplacement of the lid.

The plastic coating, while adding to the beauty of the device, moreimportantly silences the wire when the lid is being moved about. Theplastic coating furthermore adds to the overall strength of the device.

This novel retainer means fully achieves the objects and provides theadvantages hereinbefore stated, and is capable of some modificationWithout departing from the spirit of the invention. For this reason, Ido not mean to be limited to the preferred forms shown, and described,but rather to the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a container assembly having a lid, a handle on the lid, and ahandle on the side of the container, the improvement comprising aplastic coated wire having a central portion and two end parts, each endpart including means forming a clasp, the first said clasp being adaptedto be loosely affixed to said lid handle, the second end part beingadapted to be loosely aflixed to said container handle, the centralportion being adapted to be bent into a configuration to permit said lidto be removably fitted to said container, whereby said lid is alwaysretained in close proximity to said container.

2. A rigid metallic rod having a plastic coating thereon, means formingeach end of said rod into a fastener comprised of a 180 bend, a straightportion followed by a 90 bend, and a second shorter straight portionfollowed by a 180 bend; one of said'fasteners being adapted to beaffixed to a lid handle, the other said fastener being adapted to beaffixed to a container handle, the portion between each fastener beingadapted to be suitably bent into a configuration to facilitate removaland replacement of said lid whereby said lid and said container are heldin close proximity to each other.

3. In a container assembly having a lid, and a handle on the lid, theimprovement comprising a plastic coated wire having a central portionand two end parts;

each said end part including means forming a fastener;

one said fastener being adapted to be loosely affixed to the lid handle;

the other said fastener being adapted to be screwed into the ground andincluding means forming a spiral 15 wherein each revolution of thespiral is of progressively smaller diameter in a direction opposite tosaid central portion of said wire;

said central portion being adapted to be bent into a References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 4/1953 Frey 220-55.?

FOREIGN PATENTS 120,000 10/1915 Great Britain.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner. THERON E. CONDON, Examiner.

G. T. HALL, Assistant Examiner.

1. IN A CONTAINER ASSEMBLY HAVING A LID, A HANDLE ON THE LID, AND AHANDLE ON THE SIDE OF THE CONTAINER, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING APLASTIC COATED WIRE HAVING A CENTRAL PORTION AND TWO END PARTS, EACH ENDPART INCLUDING MEANS FORMING A CLASP, THE FIRST SAID CLASP BEING ADAPTEDTO BE LOOSELY AFFIXED TO SAID LID HANDLE, THE SECOND END PART BEINGADAPTED TO BE LOOSELY AFFIXED TO SAID CONTAINER HANDLE, THE CENTRALPORTION BEING ADAPTED TO BE